Pixel 7 Pro Camera Review: Embrace the Fog with Cinematic Blur

If you know and love Portrait Mode for stills, good news for you, Google brought the same effect to video recordings. It’s called Cinematic Blur. What it does is tracks a subject in the frame and creates a blurry, out-of-focus background behind it.  You might be thinking Sena, you just explained how to unblur a blurry photo, what’s with blurring again? Good question! 

Pixel 7 Pro Cinematic Blur Feature

You see the shallow depth of field between the subject and the background has a soft pleasing candid effect on your images. It basically replicates what your eye naturally does. 

I’m a regular movie goer, and you’ll see this effect all the time if you’re in the cinema. You may have seen it on the recent Speilberg movie:

“The Fabelmans” movie, 2022 by Steven Spielberg

You see. It especially goes great with people, makes a scene more intimate than it actually is, unlocks the  emotional element of a scene. This does not guarantee you a position at Spielberg’s office but hey maybe it does, maybe you’re a seasoned filmmaker who also films with a phone, what do I know. And for mastering manipulating feeling…..

Meghan Markle on their Netflix show “Harry & Meghan”

The Cinematic Blur mode is only available on the Google Pixel 7 and 7 Pro. Assuming you own one of these two smartphones, here’s how to use the feature:

• Open the Camera app on a Pixel 7 or Pixel 7 Pro

• Towards the bottom of the screen right below the shutter button, swipe through the various camera modes until you land on Cinematic.

• Tap the shutter button to begin recording. You’ll need a subject in the frame for the foreground-background separation effect to work.

If we think from a different direction here, you can also utilize this feature to blur not-so-photogenic background in your videos.

Post-Christmas litter

Your subject will be highlighted while unwanted background action will diffuse in blur. If you do product reviews like me, it’s also great to have all the focus on your product so your viewers are following the storyline and not getting distracted by the surrounding.

Google Pixel watch

Shoot the holiday lights with the cinematic blur, it’ll feel like you’re walking through disneyland.. Blur away everything else but the little one opening their gifts.  After all christmas is not a season, it’s a feeling and cinematic blur will make that feeling pop.  

Like and subscribe, I’ll see you in part 6, which is pure Magic…Eraser… It’s the Magic Eraser.  See you soon!

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